Please speak to the amendment Senator Mullen. The Senator must speak through the Chair rather than speaking directly to Senator Seery Kearney.

I ask the Senator and the Minister to speak through the Chair.

That has nothing to do with the amendments.

That is not to do with the amendments.

That is not to do with the amendments.

We will keep to the amendments. I thank the Senator for her intervention.

Is the Senator's contribution going to be on the amendments?

That is marvellous. We are going to keep to the amendments and hear a little less about our parents and who is or is not giving us advice.

I thank the Fine Gael Senators for introducing this motion into the Seanad Chamber. In particular, I welcome Ms Power and others from the Irish Cancer Society who are here in recognition of the enormous work they do and the contribution they make. I could say there is nothing else to say other than these are the things we need to see. Many of us in this House and this building have been affected by cancer. I do not think there is a single person in Ireland who has not been affected by it. We see that in the figures…

Today I will talk about two different strands of the housing crisis. All of us have been out knocking on doors over the past while, and after every canvass in Dublin North-West we remarked among ourselves on how many empty houses there were. We do not mean houses that are clearly abandoned with wood across them and so on, or houses with recently sold or for sale signs on them. However, you can tell they are empty. We are stunned by it. It does not matter which part of the constituency it is - up, down, north, south…

It is great to have the Minister of State in the House on this good news day and to see the extension. I hope people will take note of it and avail of the leave. Does he have any information on the uptake of parent’s leave and benefit and is there any data on that? I was in Iceland a couple of years ago on a study trip to learn how Iceland had built one of the most gender-equal societies in the world. It has the smallest gender age gap and so on. We trundled around the place talking to politicians on the left and r…

Before I make my contribution, I want to address some of the things that have been said. A suggestion has been made that the passing of the Bill today will mean the changing of policy tomorrow. However, we all know that is not how the legislative process works. There are multiple Stages in both Houses. There is pre-legislative scrutiny, Committee Stage and Government amendments. I do not see why all of this diplomatic engagement and all of these other bits and pieces cannot happen as we go through the normal legisl…

The only topic I can speak on today is the unspeakable horrors we have seen play out in Rafah. I have looked at photos of charred babies who were burned to death. I have watched the video of a man holding up the headless body of a child while fires burn in the background, and shouts and pleas for mercy ring out. I wonder is it mercy from whom - Israel or the world? Western Rafah is where the Israeli army forced Palestinian refugees to flee for their own safety, and those little children were supposed to be safe the…

I rise to address a very grave issue, the resurgence of animal cruelty, specifically through the barbaric practice of cockfighting. Despite our progress in animal welfare and this cruel practice being outlawed almost 200 years ago, this disgusting spectacle has seen a troubling revival. Footage obtained by Noteworthy shows horrific battles being held in backyards as well as in purpose-built cockpits, where the birds fight until they collapse. Those involved in this sadistic sport range in ages and backgrounds, incl…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am often accused of talking rubbish in here but today I am literally going to talk about rubbish and the impact on our local communities. I thank my Labour Party colleagues for introducing this motion, in particular, Senator Sherlock, who has led out on this. I also refer to my Labour Party colleague, Councillor Kevin Donoghue, who has led on this on Dublin City Council in recent years. I never met anyone who was so animated about the future of waste manageme…

I was not going to speak today. I just came down to listen but as I listened to Senator Clonan and others, the words of James Connolly came to mind. Some men, faint-hearted, ever seek Our programme to retouch, And will insist, whene’er they speak That we demand too much. ’Tis passing strange, yet I declare Such statements give me mirth, For our demands most moderate are, We only want the earth. These words from Connolly's 1907 poem, "We Only Want the Earth", stand true today when we say we only want the earth. Disa…

I hope the Government will support her in the work she is doing on that. I also hope the Bill will not be opposed but, rather, ushered through with enthusiasm and haste. I thank all the visitors in the Chamber and those who are not here and have advocated for themselves or their loved ones for too long. I look forward to a day when disabled people have their needs met and their families are supported and we have a society in which every individual can thrive to the fullness of their ability. Until that day, let us …

What do you think of me?

It was a Thomas the Tank Engine reference.

We are resuming on section 15. Amendment No. 57 is in the names of Senators Higgins, Ruane, Black and Flynn. Senator Higgins has the floor.